Can a long sentence be a reason for compassionate release?

Originally published March 15, 2021. Statements about the law were updated in October 2026; the box below gives today’s rules.

What the law says now (October 2026). A federal judge can reduce a sentence for “extraordinary and compelling” reasons (reasons that are especially unusual and convincing). You must first ask the warden in writing. You can file in court 30 days after the warden gets the request, or sooner if you finish the Bureau of Prisons’ appeals (18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)). The judge also weighs the sentencing factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). See who may seek compassionate release.

Changes in sentencing law. In Rutherford v. United States (May 28, 2026), the Supreme Court held that when Congress makes a sentencing change non-retroactive (meaning it does not apply to people already sentenced), such as the First Step Act’s end of “stacked” § 924(c) sentences, the gap between an old sentence and today’s sentence cannot be an “extraordinary and compelling” reason, alone or combined with other reasons. Some older posts here describe court wins on that theory; those wins are history, not today’s law.
Age. A court may consider a person who is 65 or older, has a serious decline in health because of aging, and has served at least 10 years or 75 percent of the sentence, whichever is less (U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13(b)(2)). A separate rule covers people 70 or older who have served 30 years under 18 U.S.C. § 3559(c) (§ 3582(c)(1)(A)(ii)).

Federal prisoners can ask a court for compassionate release, which means early release for medical or other serious reasons. When this article was written in 2021, some people also used it to challenge very long sentences. The Supreme Court has since limited that argument, as explained below.

What compassionate release is

Compassionate release is a way for federal prisoners to ask for immediate release on medical or humanitarian grounds.

In 2021, many people did not know about a change in the law that let prisoners file for compassionate release based on how long their sentence was, what type of sentence it was, or how it was put together.

How the First Step Act opened the door

For a long time, compassionate release was very limited and extremely rare. The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) was known for opposing most requests.

The First Step Act of 2018 changed that. It greatly expanded prisoners’ ability to file for compassionate release in court. Since the law passed, courts have granted more than 2,000 compassionate releases.

The law also widened the reasons a court could look at. Prisoners can now ask the court themselves for release based on “extraordinary and compelling” reasons. This broad phrase covers things like medical conditions, personal and family hardships, and age. At the time, some prisoners also argued that their sentence itself was an extraordinary and compelling reason.

Harsh sentences as a reason: then and now

Is your loved one serving what amounts to a life sentence for a crime that would get much less time today? In 2021, that might have supported a request. For example, before 2026 some courts found that stacked 924(c) cases were extraordinary and compelling (the Supreme Court rejected that view in Rutherford v. United States on May 28, 2026), U.S. v Urkevich, 2020 LEXIS 197408 (D. Nebraska).

At the time, people also pointed to other sentence types as possible grounds, such as 851 mandatory sentences for repeat drug offenders.

Faster access to the courts

The First Step Act also made it easier to reach a judge. In the past, a prisoner had to finish every step of the BOP’s internal appeal process (called “exhausting administrative remedies”) before going to court. That process was long, often delayed by BOP procedures, and usually ended in a denial. Some prisoners even died while waiting for the BOP to answer.

Now a prisoner may be able to go to court within 30 days of filing the first request with the warden. And anyone who believes they have extraordinary and compelling reasons may ask for compassionate release.

How to start

First, the prisoner sends a formal request for compassionate release to the warden of their prison. The warden has 30 days to respond. This step is critical, so the request should be thorough and complete.

If the request is not granted within 30 days, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) allows a motion to be filed in court asking for compassionate release.

Article by Greg Berry, Criminal Center

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